Log carrier



yZ 47-' c. E. NORDIN 2,420,792

LOG CARRIER Filed J1me 1e,v 1945 m Hvm/f 6 amass EM/L IYoeom Tr OR: Y

Patented May 20, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOG oARRiEIt CharlesEmil Nordin, ComoieBritish oelumbia, Canada Application June 16, 1945,Seri'al No. 599,884

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to improvements in log carriers which areparticularly adapted for transporting logs by sea from the log nOperations to the saw mills.

The objects of the invention are to provide means whereby the logs maybe easily loaded into holds or pockets in the carrier or vessel andreleased in groups at destination without danger to personnel orequipment; to provide means whereby the discharge of the logs is throughthe sides of the vessel, so that after loading no logs haveto be raisedfrom theirstowed position, and to provide means whereby the logs areheld immovable relative to the vessel during transit.

The invention contemplates a carrier conforming generally to thecontours of a ship and holds formed therein capable of top loading andside discharge and a cable means disposed vertieally of the dischargeside of each hold for supporting the logs in position during loading, aswill be more fully described in the following specification and shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged'transverse sectional view taken on the line 2--2'of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View of the cable shaft tightening device.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the shaft cable engaging means.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified means for securing the cables in logsupporting position.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of said modification.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in each figure.

The numeral l indicates generally the carrier or vessel which consistsof a pontoon 2 terminating at its forward end with a prow 3. The pontoon2 is provided with a deck 4 sloping downwardly from a longitudinalpartition 5 which extends to themain deckB. The vessel is dividedtransversely into holds 1 by bulkheads 8 and are connected together attheir upper outer ends with heavy deck beams 9 which form the vessel'srails and define deck hatches Ill-between each beam and the partition 5and side openings ll between the beams and the outer edge of the pontoondeck 4. The partition 5 carries a runway I3 and the beams carry runwaysM which form part of the deck and access from one runway to another isacross the deck covering the bulkheads, which are of substantial widthas the hatches l0 and the side openings II are of equal length, so thatand 2 logs lowered into 'a' hold 1 with one end engaging a bulkhea'd'mayroll out of said hold through its opening I! without fouling any part ofthe structure.

Secured tothe outer edge of the deck 4 of each hold 1 is a plurality ofcables i1, each of which is fitted with a turnbuckle [8 intermediate itslength, the upper end of said cable is provided with an eye 20, seeFigure 4, by which it is secured at its upper end. The means fortightening the cables II, which is shown in Figures 3 and 4, consists ofa horizontal shaft 22 which extends above each of the openings H. Theshaft 22 is journall'edin bearing's'fi and 24 and. is fitted directlyover each cable I! with a small drum or boss 26 which is provided with ahook 21 to engage the eye 2|] of the'cable IT. The bearing 24 is fittedpreferably directly over a bulkhead and encloses a worm gear 29 which issecured to the shaft, said bearingalso journals an inclined shaft 30towhich' is secured a worm 3i engaging the ear 29 and a collar 32 whichis recessed to receive a detachable handle or key 34.

In the modified means for supporting the cable I! in vertical position,bearings 38 and 39 are provided along the runways I4 and over each sideopening H. In the bearings 38 a rectangular rod '40 is slidably mounted,the rod is provided at one end with a rounded threaded portion 4| whichpasses through the bearing 39. Rockingly mounted upon the screw threadedportion 4| is a hand lover having a reversible pawl 45 of anyappropriate type which engages a ratchet 4 6 formed upon a nut 41surrounding the screw 4|.

At suitable distances along the length of the openings l l slottedbrackets 49 are secured tothe race of the beam 9 and secured to the rod40 is a keeper 511 to'co act with each bracket 49. Each keeper-isprovided with an opening 5| extending diagonally inwards from its outerface, one side wall, indicated by the numeral 52, serves to engageathimble 5'3-secured to the upper end of the cable I!- to hold it inlocked position as shown in Figures 5 and 6, and the opposite side,indicated by the numeral 55'is inclined to act as a wedge to drive thethimble iiiforw'ardly oil the bracket 49 and release the upper end ofthe cable when the nut 41 rotated in appropriate direction by means ofthe lever M. secured to the partition '5 or'to the pontoon deck] is aplurality of flexible members 51 which are adapted to pass around allthe logs lowered into a hold 1 and be clamped, after suitabletightening, to appropriate fastening devices 58 mounted upon the runwaysI3.

In operation, the cables I! are secured in vertical position. Where thetightening means shown in Figures 3 and 4 are used, the eye 20 of eachcable I 1 will be placed upon its hook 21 and the shaft 22 rotated bymeans of the key 34 to tighten up all the cables simultaneously. It isintended that the tightening should be done with say from a quarter to ahalf turn of the shaft, therefore if there is any appreciable differencein the length of the cables in front of any side opening H they may bebrought to uniformity by the turnbuckles [8. When the cables I! aresecurely held in vertical position as shown on the right hand side ofFigure 2, the flexible members 51 are brought up inside of and over itsbeam 9, then logs are loaded into the hold I through the hatch l0, andthe side thrust of the logs will be countered by the vertical cables I!which may be reinforced by having a vertical timber 60 erected alongsideeach cable and lashed thereto, such timber being obviously interposedbetween the cable and the log load. The interposition of these timberswill maintain the alignment of the side of the log load of each pocketsubstantially with the side of the vessel, thus reducing drag in towing.When the load is in place, the free ends of the flexible members 51 arebrought over to the runway I3 and are ti tened up by appropriate meansand made fast to the devices 58.

On reaching destination logs are discharged from any hold through theopening II, by first releasing the members 51 then turning the shaft 22until the hooks 21, which are aligned, simultaneously drop their cablesI! and allow the logs to run out and be launched into the water.

Where fastening devices as shown in Figures Band 6 are used, thethimbles 53 of the cables I! are placed in position upon the brackets 49and the rod 40 is moved endwise to dispose the side 52 of the opening 51of the keepers 5B in front of the thimbles as shown, then the turn..buckles [8 are tightened up to the proper tension and the holds I loadedand secured as above mentioned. In releasing the log load, after theflexible members 51 are unfastened, the lever 44 is actuated to move therod to the left, as viewed in Figures 5 and 6, when the wedge sides 55of the keepers 50 thrust against their respective thimbles 53 to urgethem outwardly from the brackets 49 and allow the cables I! to fall awayfrom the top and the log load to discharge into the water.

It will be obvious that with the cables IT, with or without the loadaligning timbers 60 forming the closure of the outer side of each hold1, that said closure will necessarily be much lighter and moreconvenient to handle than the heavy gate structure heretofore proposedand also that this structure being both light and flexible is notsubject to damage of any kind when the log load is released.

It will be obvious that the shafts and other equipment controlling therelease of the cables I! will be suitably guarded against damage whenloading the vessel.

What I claim as my invention is:

1, A log carrier comprisinga pontoon having sides and a centralpartition, a deck sloping downwardly from said partition to the sides ofsaid pontoon, bulkheads extending transversely of said pontoon to dividethe deck into a plurality of holds, a beam extending lengthwise aboveeach side of the pontoon defining a hatch and a side opening for each ofthe holds, spaced vertical cables adapted to be tensioned between theside of the pontoon and a beam for forming a closure for one of the sideopenings, and means for simultaneously releasing one end of each of saidcables.

2. A log carrier comprising a pontoon having sides and a centralpartition, a deck sloping downwardly from said partition to the sides ofsaid pontoon, bulkheads extending transversely of said pontoon to dividethe deck into a plurality of holds, a beam extending lengthwise aboveeach side of the pontoon defining a hatch and a side opening for each ofthe holds, spaced vertical cables adapted to be tensioned between theside of the pontoon and a beam for forming a closure for one of the sideopenings, and means for simultaneously releasing one end of each of saidcables, and a rigid elongated member secured to some of the cablesbetween their extremities.

3. A log carrier comprising a pontoon having sides and a centralpartition, a deck sloping downwardly from said partition to the sides ofsaid pontoon, bulkheads extending transversely of said pontoon to dividethe deck into a plurality of holds, a beam extending lengthwise aboveeach side of the pontoon defining a hatch and a side opening for each ofthe holds, spaced vertical cables adapted to be tensioned between theside of the pontoon and a beam for forming a closure for one of the sideopenings and means for simultaneously releasing one end of each of saidcables, said releasing means comprising a shaft mounted parallel to oneend of each of said cables, said shaft having aligned devices eachadapted to releasably engage an end of a cable, and means for turningthe shaft to release the engaging means from the cable ends.

4. A log carrier comprising a pontoon having sides and a centralpartition, a deck sloping downwardly from said partition to the sides ofsaid pontoon, bulkheads extending transversely of said pontoon to dividethe deck into a plurality of holds, a beam extending lengthwise aboveeach side of the pontoon defining a hatch and a side opening for each ofthe holds, spaced vertical cables adapted to be tensioned between theside of the pontoon and a beam for forming a closure for one of the sideopenings, and means for simultaneously releasing one end of each of saidcables, said releasing means comprising a shaft mounted parallel to oneend of each of said cables, said shaft having aligned devices eachadapted to releasably engage an end of a cable, a worm and worm wheeldrive for rotating the shaft to alternatively tension the cables acrossthe opening and to release the engaged ends of said cables.

CHARLES EMIL NORDIN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Fisher Apr. 21, 1931Number

